Effect of needle knife intervention on tensile mechanics of femoral quadriceps tendon in rabbits with knee osteoarthritis / 中国骨伤

OBJECTIVE@#To observe the effects of acupotomy intervention on the behavior, morphology and tensile mechanics of knee osteoarthritis (KOA) rabbits, and to explore the biomechanical effects of acupotomy on KOA.@*METHODS@#Twenty-four New Zealand male rabbits were randomly divided into four groups: normal group, model group, electroacupuncture group and needle-knife group, with 6 rabbits in each group. In each model group, rabbit KOA model was established by fixing Videman's left hind limb in straight position for 6 weeks. In the electroacupuncture group, rats were treated left on Liang Qiu, Xue Hai, Nei Xi Yan and Wai Xi Yan 3 times a week for 3 weeks. In the acupotomology group, the left quadriceps femoris tendon was released with acupotomology, and the treatment was once a week for 3 weeks. Behavioral tests were performed using Lequesne MG knee joint evaluation method one week after the end of modeling and one week after the end of treatment, and HE staining and mechanical tests were performed one week after the end of treatment.@*RESULTS@#Behavioral observation before treatment showed that there were significant differences in local pain, gait response, joint activity and joint swelling between the normal group and the model group(0.05). After treatment, the results showed that there were significant differences in local pain, gait response, joint activity and joint swelling among model group, electro-acupuncture group and needle-knife group compared with normal group(0.05); there was significant difference between needle knife group and model group(0.05). In gait change, there was significant difference between model group and electro-acupuncture group(0.05). In joint activity, there was significant difference between electro-acupuncture group and model group(0.05). Mechanics: Compared with the blank group, the ultimate load of the model group decreased significantly(0.05), and the ultimate load of the needle-knife group increased(>0.05). Compared with the model group, the ultimate load of the electro-acupuncture group increased significantly(0.05). Compared with the blank group, the maximum displacement of the model group decreased significantly(0.05). Compared with the model group, the maximum displacement of the electro-acupuncture group increased(>0.05), and the maximum displacement of the needle-knife group increased significantly(0.05). There was no significant difference in stiffness among groups(>0.05).@*CONCLUSIONS@#Acupotomy intervention can significantly change the behavior and morphology, significantly improve the mechanical properties of quadriceps femoris tendon stretch, and exert its biomechanical effects to achieve the purpose of treating KOA.

Effect of Small Knife Needle on β-enorpin and Enkehalin Contents of Tansverse Process Syndrome of the Third Vertebra / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the analgesic mechanism of small knife needle for treating transverse process syndrome of the third vertebra (TPSTV) by observing peripheral and central changesof β-endorphin (β-EP) and enkephalin (ENK) contents.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Totally 30 Japanese white big-ear rabbits of clean grade were divided into 5 groups according to random digit table, i.e., the normal control group, the model group, the small knife needle group, the electroacupunture (EA) group, and the small knife needle plus EA group, 6 in each group. The TPSTV model was established by inserting a piece of gelatin sponge into the left transverse process of 3rd lumbar vertebrae. Rabbits in the small knife needlegroup were intervened by small knife needle. Those in the EA group were intervened by EA at bilateralWeizhong (BL40). Those in the small knife needle plus EA group were intervened by small knife needleand EA at bilateral Weizhong (BL40). Contents of β-EP and ENK in plasma, muscle, spinal cord, and hypothalamus were determined after sample collection at day 28 after modeling.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with the normal control group, contents of β-EP and ENK in plasma and muscle increased significantly, and contents of β-EP and ENK in spinal cord and hypothalamus decreased significantly in the model group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). Contents of β-EP and ENK approximated normal levels in the three treatment groups after respective treatment. Compared with the model group, the content of β-EP in muscle decreased, and contents of β-EP and ENK in hypothalamus increased in the three treatment groups after respective treatment (P < 0.05). There were no significant difference among the three treatment groups (P > 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Small knife needle treatment and EA had benign regulation on peripheral and central β-EP and ENK in TPSTV rabbits. Small knife needle treatment showed better effect than that of EA.</p>

Exploration on prizing technique / 中国针灸

The manipulating methods among the traditional needling manipulation other than lifting-thrusting and twirling are analyzed, their manipulations and curative effect are explored in combination with acupotomy. It is believed that there's a certain kind of prizing manipulation, which plays an important part in elasatolysis, circulation of qi promotion and arrival of qi stimulation. The elastic and flexible characteristic of modern acupuncture needle has made it difficult to play the role of prizing puncture. On the contrary, the high stiffness and inflexible needle like acupotomy and leverage needle can effectively complete the prizing puncture.

Effects of acupotomy lysis on local soft tissue tension in patients with the third lumbar vertebrae transverse process syndrome / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the mechanism of acupotomy lysis in treatment of the third lumbar vertebrae transverse process syndrome.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>One hundred and eighty patients were randomly assigned into an acupotomy group and an electroacupuncture (EA) group, 90 cases in each group. The acupotomy group was treated with acupotomy on the tip of the 3rd lumbar vertebrae transverse process (tender point) combination with massage manipulation of hyperflexion and hyperextension on the waist, once a week for 3 weeks. The EA group was treated with EA at bilateral Shenshu (BL 23), Yaoyangguan (GV 3), Ashi point (local tender point) and ipsilateral Weizhong (BL 40), 3 times a week for 3 weeks. The 500 g pressure displacement and the energy absorption ratio were measured by JZL-II soft tissue tension meter and the clinical effect was evaluated by JOA low back pain scale before treatment, after treatment and 6 months after treatment.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>After treatment and at follow-up visit, the 500 g pressure displacement in the acupotomy group increased significantly (both P < 0.01), but it was decreased significantly in the EA group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). The energy absorption ratio in the acupotomy group after treatment and at follow-up visit increased significantly (both P < 0.01), and in the EA group, there was no significant difference after treatment as compared with that before treatment (P > 0.05), but it was increased significantly at follow-up visit (P < 0.01). The total therapeutic level distribution in the acupotomy group was better than that in the EA group after treatment and 6 months after treatment (P < 0.05, P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Acupotomy therapy can significantly increase the 500 g pressure displacement and the energy absorption ratio of the local soft tissue around the third lumbar vertebrae transverse process, decrease the local soft tissue tension so as to alleviate pain. The clinical effect of the acupotomy is superior to that of electroacupuncture.</p>

Affection of acupotomy lysis on leu-enkephalin (L-ENK) content in different parts of centrum of rats with knee osteoarthritis / 中国骨伤

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the analgesia mechanism of needle-knife lysis in spinal cord and other parts of central nervous system by comparing the changes of Leu-Enkephalin (L-ENK) content in different parts of centrium of rats undergone needle-knife lysis and electro-acupuncture respectively.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Sixty healthy SD rats were randomly devided into normal control group, model group, needle-knife lysis (NKL) group and electro-acupuncture (EA) group. 4% papain solution mixed with 0.3 mol/L cysteine solutin in the ratio of 1:1, paused for 0.5 h,injected the mixture, 20 microl each time,into the left knee joint cavities of rats in model, NKL, EA groups at the 1st, 4th, 7th day. After 4 weeks in NKL group and EA group were treated with needle-knife lysis and electro-acupuncture, respectively. Three weeks after treatment, samples of spinal cord of the swollen part of rat waists and rat brains were taken from and the content of L-ENK of medulla oblongata, midbrain, pituitary gland, and hippocampus were measured.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>L-ENK content of model group increased higher than that of normal control group in spinal cord, hippocampus and midbrain (P < 0.01); there were no significant difference between normal control group and modle group on L-ENK in medulla oblongata and thalamus (P > 0.05). After intervening of NKL or EA, L-ENK content of NKL group increased higher in hippocampus than that of model group and EC group (P < 0.05); but L-ENK content of NKL group in midbrain was lower than that of model group (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Needle-knife lysis has characteristic of regulation for the L-ENK content in different parts of central nervous system of rats with knee osteoarthritis, and analgesic effect of needle-knife was possibly related with regulation of center L-ENK.</p>

Acupotomology: returning to the ancients and innovation of acupuncture / 中国针灸

Acupotomology is a technique of percutaneous minimally invasive soft tissue releasing. It can be found in traditional acupuncture, but is deemphasized in modern times. Therefore, the development of acupotomology is held as restoring of ancient ways of acupuncture. Compared with traditional acupuncture, acupotomology makes modern interpretations on the theory of muscle regions, absorbs theories of anatomy and pathology as well as techniques of asepsis and anaesthesia. It improves traditional needling tool. Therefore, it is also held as an innovation of acupuncture. The development of acupotomology makes up for the deficiency of acupuncture study. It. will promote the differentiation and crossing of acupuncture discipline, and become a new trend of acupuncture.

Analysis on indications and dominant diseases of acupotomology / 中国针灸

To analyze the indications and dominant diseases of acupotomology by literature research. The findings reveal that the 64.4% of all literature focused on eight categories of diseases, including the third lumbar vertebrae transverse process syndrome, tendinitis stenosans, cervical spondylosis, heel pain, scapulohumeral periarthritis, external humeral epicondylitis, lumbar disc herniation and osteoarthritis. The 87.5% of all literature focus on diseases of chronic strain of movement system, cervical spondylosis, cervicogenic disease, lumbar disc herniation and osteoarthritis. The indications of acupotomology are various, but not evenly distributed; the dominant diseases are comparatively concentrated. The acupotomology has great potential to treat the indications and dominant diseases. Therefore, acupotomology should be promoted scientifically in the future.

Characteristics of acupuncture in Shanghan Lun (Treatise on Febrile Diseases) / 中国针灸

Through summarization and analysis on etiology, pathology and acupoint selection in chapters about acupuncture in Shanghan Lun (Treatise on Febrile Diseases), written by ZHANG Zhong-jing, famous physician of the Eastern Han Dynasty, five features of acupuncture in the book are concluded: to cut off the pathway of pathogenic factors to prevent progress of diseases; to adopt both acupuncture and herbal medicine to give full play to their respective advantages in treatment; to distinguish pathogenesis carefully and select the proper acupoints; to observe the progressing tendency of diseases to give treatment accordingly; and to understand that yang channels are appropriate for acupuncture, while yin channels can also be selected in treatment. In this way, the law of acupuncture of ZHANG Zhong-jing is expected to be better understood.

Debating some issues on the formulation and application of standardized manipulations of acupuncture and moxibustion-part 6: acupoint injection / 中国针灸

Some issues on the formulation of Standardized manipulations of acupuncture and moxibustion-part 6: acupoint injection are debated in this paper, including the definition of acupoint injection, characteristics of the standard and application of technical index etc. In the paper, the authors suggest that the issues on the selecting acupoints and drugs should be paid attention during the standard in use. Finally, the authors propose that the technical description of the acupoint injection in the reported literatures needs to be improved in order to better serve for clinical and scientific research.

A brief on pain and its patterns in Chinese medicine / 中国结合医学杂志

Pain is the most common symptom in clinics. Therefore, the quality, time course and location of pain are important for the diagnosis and treatment. However, pain is very difficult to define, and it is one of the conditions poorly understood by the medical sciences. In Western medicine pain is often described in terms of a penetrating or tissue-destructive process and/or emotional reactions, but in Chinese medicine the pathogenesis and description of pain are different. It is described based on the theories and pathogenesis of Chinese medicine, and the patients' feeling according to their languages and cultures. Thus, when taking the history and conducting physical examination in patients in China and treating them according to Chinese medicine, we have to know how these patients express and describe their pain when they go to clinics. This article will explain some terms and words in the Chinese language and their corresponding terms in the English language.

Nitric oxide synthase (NOS) expression and nitric oxide (NO) content in the skeletal muscles in transverse process syndrome of the 3rd lumbar vertebra of model rats treated with acupotomology therapy / 中国骨伤

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the relation between the nitric-oxide synthase (NOS) expression and nitric oxide (NO) content in the skeletal muscles and the injury condition of soft tissue in the 3rd lumbar vertebrae syndrome model rats, and to observe the effect of acupotomology therapy.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>One hundred and twenty-eight adult SD rats were allocated to 4 groups randomly: normal group, model group, aminoguanidin group and acupotomology treatment group, 32 rats in each group. NOS expression, NO content and injury of the soft tissue in the 3rd lumbar vertebra were observed on the 1st, 3rd, 7th and 14th day after the acupotomology treatment and aminoguanidine intervention.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>1) Inducible NOS (iNos) activity and NO content in model group was significantly higher (F = 522.860, P < 0.01), in acupotomology group and aminoguanidine group was significantly lower than the model group (FiNOS = 28.894, P < 0.01), and iNOS activity and NO content in all groups was in competence with the condition of soft tissue injuries. 2) Endothelium NOS (eNOS) expression raised in model group and acupotomology group, and achieve peak on the 7th day. There was significant difference between the eNOS expression in acupotomology group and the model group (FeNOS = 3.454, P < 0.05). 3) The expression of neuron NOS (nNOS) in the model group, aminoguanidine group and acupotomology group had no significant (FnNOS = 0.962, P > 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Acupotomology treatment can restrain the development of high content NO, release the inflammatory reaction and injury condition, improve microcirculation, prevent the development of scar tissue of the injured soft tissue, and has significant recovering effectiveness in the soft tissue injured model rats.</p>

Multi-central randomized controlled observation on clinical therapeutic effect of the new Bian-stone therapy on scapulohumeral periarthritis / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the clinical curative effect of the new Bian-stone therapy.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>According to clinical trail principle of multi-centers, randomized grouping, parallel control and single-blind, the observation group (n=120) were treated by the new Bian-stone therapy, with multi-functional Bian-stone respectively dredging qi and blood of channels on the neck and shoulder, the shoulder and back, the limbs, and the control group (n=120) by electroacupuncture with Jianyu (LI 15), Jianliao (SJ 14), Jianzhen (SI 9), and other points selected. Their therapeutic effects were compared.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The two therapies had effects of analgesia, improving functional activity and transient analgesia. The total effective rate of the analgesic effect was 86.8% in the observation group and 72.5% in the control group with a significant difference between the two groups (P < 0.05), the observation group being better than the control group; the total effective rate of shoulder functional activity was 86.8% in the observation group and 79.8% in the control group with no significant difference between the two groups (P > 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The new Bian-stone therapy has obvious therapeutic effect on scapulohumeral periarthritis, with effects of analgesia, improving functional activity, and transient analgesia, and good long-term therapeutic effect.</p>

On relationship of acupoint-injection with injury of peripheral nerves / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To provide basis for strengthening safety of acupoint-injection and increasing clinical therapeutic effect.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Analyze and study on the relative articles from the databank of whole articles of Chinese periodicals of CNKI by information retrieval with computer, with acupoint-injection, nerve injury as key words.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Most of clinical reports focus on acupoint-injection for treatment of nervous injury induced by trauma and birth injury. The studies indicate that the injuries of the peripheral nerves induced by acupoint-injection can be divided into 3 grades and the injury mechanisms can be divided into 3 classifications. The injuring causes include improper posture of the patients, improper angle and depth of injection and improper medicine selection.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Acupoint-injection can be applied more widely as soon as the accomplishment of the standardization of operation.</p>

Significance of chong vessel theory for climacteric reactions / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To probe clinical application value of the Chong Vessel.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Analyze characteristics of running of the Chong Vessel based on running and distribution of the Chong Vessel in ancient literatures, and summarize indication rule of the Chong Vessel from the function of the Chong Vessel in the human body and the indications of the Chong Vessel, further probe into relation between the Chong Vessel and function of the human endocrine system.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Acupuncture-moxibustion therapy can exert the action, which can not be attained by drugs, on the diseases and syndromes induced by endocrine imbalance, such as climacteric syndrome and the diseases and syndromes caused by deficiency of both qi and blood in the aged.</p>

Randomized controlled trials of acupuncture at Tiaokou (ST 38) for treatment of periarthritis of shoulder / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the basic therapeutic function of Tiaokou (ST 38).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>According to clinically multi-central randomized controlled and single-blind test principle, 257 cases of periarthritis of shoulder were divided into two groups, a test group (n = 124) treated with oral anti-inflammatory analgesic medicine combined with acupuncture at Tiaokou (ST 38), and a control group (n = 133) treated with oral anti-inflammatory analgesic medicine. Their therapeutic effects were compared.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The total effective rate for stopping pain was 96.0% in the test group and 91.7% in the control group with a very significant difference between the two groups (P< 0.01). And the total effective rate for improvement of shoulder activity was 86.3% in the test group and 59.4% in the control group with a very significant difference between the two groups (P<0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Oral anti-inflammatory analgesic medicine combined with acupuncture has obvious therapeutic effect on periarthritis of shoulder, which is better than that of simple oral anti-inflammatory analgesic medicine.</p>